Empty CSX auto rack train Q217 rolls westbound on the Philadelphia Subdivision across the Susquehanna River as the tug boat “Captain Mac” awaits its next assignment at Perryville, Md., on June 18, 2012. Photo by Michael S. Murray […]
Flying high
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Build a quarry branch
Model Railroader’s HO scale Winter Hill project layout Model Railroader‘s 2013 project layout is located on our HO scale club layout, the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy. It’s a 2 x 12-foot scene with many interesting aspects including making the quarry pit for Larson Stone Co. extend into the aisle. Registered users can click the following […]
Give my regards to the Broadway
A Conrail executive locomotive, E8 No. 4022, leads the eastbound Broadway Limited, train No. 40, into Chicago Union Station on April 11, 1977. Amtrak is in the midst of a motive power shortage, caused by problems with its EMD SDP40F fleet, and is leasing extra locomotives wherever it can. Photo by Gary Dolzall […]
O gauge Blue Streak passenger set by Lionel Corp. Tinplate Line (MTH)
This is a reproduction of a clever bit of marketing from back in the mid-1930s. Take the then-popular Commodore Vanderbilt steam locomotive (the swankiest engine on the New York Central at the time) and pair it with a streamlined vividly colored train set. Profits will surely ensue. To get the job done, Lionel used its […]
O gauge RailKing GG1 by MTH
The traditionally sized GG1 is popular in O gauge, as illustrated by the fact that MTH, Williams by Bachmann, and RMT by AristO have comparable models in their current catalogs. Where vintage models may have the advantage of being collectible, they may also have chipped paint, faded stripes, and five decades of iffy maintenance (or […]
O gauge Blue Streak passenger set by Lionel Corp. Tinplate Line (MTH)
The Lionel Corp. Tinplate Blue Streak features a Commodore Vanderbilt 2-4-2 and an articulated passenger train. Watch it in action here! […]
Howard Holden’s O gauge layout
Howard Holden shared his impressive collection of a one-of-a-kind no. 6464 boxcars in the January 2013 issue of Classic Toy Trains, but he also has an O gauge layout. His layout was featured in the November 2009 issue – click the link below to download a digital copy of the article and read more about […]
O gauge Blue Streak passenger set by Lionel Corp. Tinplate Line (MTH)
The Lionel Corp. Tinplate Blue Streak features a Commodore Vanderbilt 2-4-2 and an articulated passenger train. Watch it in action here! […]
‘Penny pictures’ of the Sandy River
Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes 2-foot-gauge Mogul No. 16 pokes out of the covered depot at Kingfield, Maine. Charlie French, Mallory Hope Ferrell coll. While still a teenager in the early 1950s, I corresponded with a man who had grown up on the 2-foot-gauge lines of Maine. Arthur French, by then elderly, collected Indian Head […]
How I photographed a long-distance train ride
FULL SCREEN Roger Varland Threading the maze of girders and other tracks while coming off the MacArthur Bridge into St. Louis. FULL SCREEN Roger Varland The sun is about gone as the Texas Eagle readies for points south at St. Louis. FULL SCREEN Roger Varland Union Pacific signal upgrades watch over a waiting Texas Eagle […]
Bachmann HO scale Alco S-2 diesel locomotive
Bachmann HO scale Alco S-2 diesel locomotive From the growl of the turbocharged 539 diesel engine to the bleat of the single-chime air horn, this HO scale Alco S-2 captures the sounds of its prototype. This Bachmann SoundValue model has a simplified version of a SoundTraxx Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder. The accurately detailed and […]
Kato USA N scale EMD F40PH diesel locomotive
Kato USA N scale F40PH diesel locomotive Ditch lights and roof-mounted cab air conditioners are the two most noticeable detail changes on the Kato N scale F40PH. Model Railroader reviewed the first release of the Kato F40PH, detailed to match the Amtrak prototype, in the December 2005 issue. This latest version is detailed to better […]
